Now with Christmas officially behind us, excitement for 2017 is building.

Resolutions are being thought out, people are preparing to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, but for some, all they want is to get through yet another day.

For Tuki Feite, from the village of Moamoa, working hard through the holidays was a must for him as he is the breadwinner of his family.

Earning honest money through his skills in gardening, the 41-year-old man says he can’t wait for 2017 and his plan is simply to trust in God for the blessings the New Year will bring.

“This Christmas was great,” he told the Village Voice yesterday.

“Everything is alright with my family, I am still doing some work to take care of my family but we’re not really struggling that much.

“I am grateful to your programme (Village Voice) because it shows what’s going on in our country especially for us who work hard to take care of those we love.”

Tuki explains that 2016 was very eventful, although his family went through a few bumps here and there; they still managed to get through and look forward to a brand new year.

“Right now my family is just preparing for the New Year,” he said.

“We want to start 2017 afresh and make sure everything remains in order. I am actually from Moamoa and I am just doing some work in this village.

“My family and I went through our own personal struggle this passing year but we managed to deal with everything.

“This coming year, my only plan is to try and lead my family to blessings and I will be thankful to the Lord if he helps us in our new journey.

“But the only thing I want to focus on is to provide for those that I love. Hopefully a lot of changes will be made in our country and I am excited what next year will bring.”

For Tuki’s family, the tough gardening work is all they have to fall back on and even though it’s not easy, the hardworking man explains that it’s their only source of money.

“Right now this work that I do is what takes care of my family,” he said.

“I do the gardening and landscaping for different houses and different company lands. It’s good honest money and I love what I do.

“Most of my family members are overseas but I work really hard to take care of as much as possible.”

But all in all, Tuki says that Christmas was nice and peaceful.

“Christmas was very peaceful for my family,” he said.

“Where I live, there were not many people causing much noise so everything was great. We just went to church and celebrated together with those that I love.

“But yes, this year went by fast and this Christmas was nice and refreshing.”